The Addams Family
The Addams Family is one of those movies that you want to like but you just can't do it. The actors are good but it doesn't have enough big laughs. The story also could have used a little work because it seems like it is a series of cartoons in which nothing seems related to each other.
The art direction of the movie looks exactly like the cartoons by Charles Addams. The family lives in a towering, Gothic-type mansion. The family have their own rules, such as you can't kill your brother with a kitchen knife... you have to use a butcher knife. These subtle comic touches are nice and make you smile, but nothing makes you laugh out loud. And that's what I was hoping for when I went to see the movie.
Morticia is played by Angelica Houston, who is almost unrecognizable under all that makeup. However, she is perfect for the part, looking almost exactly like the original character. Gomez, played by Raul Julia, is her husband and has this wackiness about his character. Wednesday and Pugsley (Christina Ricci and Jimmy Workman) are probably the most redeeming value of the movie. The also provide the only big laugh in the movie in which, during a fight sequence for a school pageant, they drench the stage and the audience with fake blood.
The story, which could have some more creativity, because it is a recycled story, and the Addams Family are more than a recycled family (Well, maybe they do recycle each other but you never know with this family). The basic plot is about an evil scheme to get to the Addams' fortune, who convinces Christopher Lloyd to impersonate Fester, the family's long-lost brother. Soon, though, he begins to believe that he is part of the family.
The biggest problem that I had with the movie was the comedy. The Addams Family could have been a very funny flick, but the writers didn't put the scenes together well. What is produced from this is almost like a comic strip: it comes a week at a time and they never relate to each other. Since I haven't really seen the Addams Family comics as a series (I only saw one strip), I'm not sure if they related. But the movie has several different scenes that have nothing to do with the movie. For instance, when a Girl Scout asks if Wednesday's lemonade is from real lemons, Wednesday asks the Girl Scout if the Girl Scout cookies are made of real Girl Scouts.
The Addams Family is rated PG-13. There really isn't anything offensive, but the comic humor of the family is dark and broody. There is some language by the villains. However, if you are looking for a funny movie, this might be it. If you are looking for a really funny movie with a good story, look elsewhere.